Archduchy of Austria

The Archduchy of Austria was a major principality of the Holy Roman Empire and the center of the Habsburg monarchy. With its capital at Vienna, the archduchy was located in the southeast of the vast empire, and it was created in 1453 after the Duchy of Austria was elevated. Emperor Frederick IV of Germany took the title of Archduke in 1453, and all ensuing Holy Roman Emperors (except for Charles VII of Germany) would be Archdukes of Austria. In 1806, the Imperial state of Austria was dissolved when Napoleon I dissolved the Holy Roman Empire, and it was incorporated into the Austrian Empire as Lower Austria and Upper Austria.